Concept Paper for Affected Population Forums

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Theodore Hardy
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1 Concept Paper for Affected Population Forums 1. Rationale 2. Objective 2.1 Rights Access 2.2 Community/Government Dialogue 2.3 Accountability Mechanisms 3. Location and Schedule 3.1 Location 3.2 Schedule 4. Community Inclusion Program 5. Government Inclusion Program 6. Outputs and Accountability Mechanisms 7. HRC-Oxfam/UNOCHA Partnership Prepared by: HRC-Oxfam April Revision 1 Page 1 of 7

1 Location 3.2 Schedule 4. Community Inclusion Program 5. Government Inclusion Program 6.

2 1. Rationale Typhoon Pablo's (international name Bopha) impact on the provinces of Davao Oriental and Compestela was one of the worst natural disasters world-wide in The nature of this damage was in many cases complete, destroying shelter and long term livelihood. The government at national and local level is the largest stakeholder in assisting the recovery of the local economy, shelter and community structure. Local/International NGO's and UN agencies have far fewer monetary resources and after the initial response can only provide limited assistance for long term recovery, mostly associated with capacity development. In addition to this it is election time and there will be significant changes in administrations. This represents an opportunity for the legislative agenda's for the next 3 years to be set for effective recovery. The nature of this area of the country is that it's a rural community where there is a large equity gap, with subsistence being a way of life along with malnutrition, limited government services and minimal education opportunities. The affected population are now showing a spirit of resilience in dealing with the situation, however as the current assistance disappears, long term shelter and economic recovery to build back food security are critical issues. Communities have had limited access to communication forums to address the issues on the ground with government. Local Government has also not had the ability to communicate effectively with communities as they deal with the emergency situation and now the elections. Also government at different levels has been formulating plans and mobilizing resources and this needs to be communicated to the communities. A forum needs to be created to allow this discussion in a constructive manner while also creating accountability mechanisms so that all levels of government can be held to promises made, while also creating more awareness at a local and international level of the seriousness of the current situation. Page 2 of 7

The government at national and local level is the largest stakeholder in assisting the recovery of the local economy, shelter and community structure.

3 2. Objectives Affected populations have to understand their rights under local and international laws which includes participation in the rebuilding process, equal opportunities for all sectors and right to information regarding plans and progress. Government has started planning and recovery activities and they have a need to properly communicate these to the public while also needing to mobilize other stakeholders to participate in the recovery process. 2.1 Rights Access Forming community groups that represent the most vulnerable sectors and educating them on the rights that they have while having them determine and formulate positions so that they can present these credibly to stakeholders in the rebuilding process. 2.2 Community/Government Dialogue Working with the government and community representatives so that: Government and Community Sharing o Community representatives can articulate their concerns to all stakeholders o Government can present plans and timelines o Government and communities can discuss what has been done. Government and Community agreements o Based on sharing formulate agreements based on plans and needs o Determine future dialogue forums and schedule 2.3 Accountability Mechanisms To hold all stakeholders accountability the dialogues must be documented by independent stakeholders, be made public and monitored UN agencies and NGO's to document the agreements o Monitoring and evaluation of progress at regular intervals fed-back into future dialogue. o Proceedings to be provided to local and international media for transparency and awareness raising Raising awareness will also provide other forums for other stakeholders to participate in the recovery, ie. private sector, international development agencies etc. Page 3 of 7

Government has started planning and recovery activities and they have a need to properly communicate these to the public while also needing to mobilize other stakeholders to participate in the

4 3. Location and Schedule 3.1 Location To ensure that the communities voice is heard the location should be the individual municipality to reduce the intimidation factor. Also by having Provincial and National Government officials travelling to the locality shows that they are concerned with the issues. Also having it localized allows a more contextualized discussion that deals with their immediate concerns. HRC-Oxfam is currently targeting the following municipalities: Davao Oriental o Baganga o Cateel o Boston Compestela Valley o Compestela o New Bataan 3.2 Schedule To set the Executive Agenda this must be done after the election is completed and results are determined so that the executive and legislative branches of government are fully involved. It also needs to be timely so that the discussions will impact the agenda setting of the new administrations. Preparation of the community must also begin after the election so that it will not be used as a political platform and that communities are back to concentrating on non election things. April 15 to May 15 Designing of program Community and government mobilization strategy Material Preparation May 15 to June 7 community group formation community group workshop Government stakeholder organizing June 10 to June 28 Forums July 1 to July 13 completion of documentation feeding back to communities and government July 13 on Monitoring of agreements Page 4 of 7

Also having it localized allows a more contextualized discussion that deals with their immediate concerns.

5 4. Community Involvement Program Because of the power dynamic involved in the formality of the forum along with the presence of officials it is paramount that communities are coached to present their needs in a credible manner. Selection of Representatives Respected by the community Politically independent Sectorally represented o Women o IP's o Livelihood groups o Seniors o Youth o Temporary and permanent relocation sites Articulate and committed champions Workshop Orientations on the rights of affected communities Orientation on what the forum will achieve Determination of key issues and community suggestions o Food Security o Shelter o Livelihood o Human Rights Issues Security Coercion Gender and children issues Access to assistance Election related issues Presentation formation Validation and Preparation Representatives can validate with the communities Final preparation of spokespeople and how to prepare for questions and feedback Page 5 of 7

Selection of Representatives Respected by the community Politically independent Sectorally represented o Women o IP's o Livelihood groups o Seniors o Youth o Temporary and permanent relocation sites

6 5. Government Inclusion Program Participants Municipal LGU o Mayor o SB o MPDC o MDRRMC o MSWD o Livelihood Point people o MHO Provincial LGU o Governor o PPDC o PSWD o Livelihood Point People National Government o DSWD o DA o NEDA o DILG At Municipal Level help prepare: Plan presentation o Shelter/Relocation plans (No Build Zones) o Economic Development Plans o Basic Service restoration o Food Security o Referral Systems Orientation on issues that may be surfaced so that they can respond Ensuring the understanding that this is about communication and improving community relations not blaming them for shortfalls. Page 6 of 7

plans (No Build Zones) o Economic Development Plans o Basic Service restoration o Food Security o Referral Systems Orientation on issues that may be surfaced

7 6. Outputs and Accountability Mechanisms The forum would be facilitated and documented by UNOCHA and HRC-Oxfam as a round table discussion: Community Presentation MLGU Presentation Community feedback on MLGU presentation MLGU response Other Stakeholders/Govt agency input By Issue or sector document agreement or action point Set up future dialogue opportunities All outputs must be concise, timely and fed-back to the communities. Should: Summarize the MLGU outputs with respect to major issues raised by the community. Outline of the agreements and action points. Referral systems and next meeting schedule. Presented jointly to media To hold everyone accountable UNOCHA and HRC-Oxfam would agree to monitor progress and report back to next dialogue progress with respect to the agreements. In addition to this the report would be presented to the Provincial/Regional and National Government agencies as well as the UN to raise awareness and mobilize assistance for the MLGU's. 7. HRC-Oxfam/UNOCHA Partnership The HRC-Oxfam response has formed strong working relationships with communities where we have implemented the response. In addition to this we have relationships with the Municipal LGU's. UNOCHA has developed good relationships with both Provincial Governments as well as national government agencies. In addition to this the UN has more recognition by government and the public at large. This forum is in line with HRC-Oxfam's advocacy strategy as well as the communication strategy of UNOCHA. To meet this the partnership would include: Program and output design (HRC-Oxfam/UNOCHA) Mobilization/Preparation of communities (HRC-Oxfam) Mobilization/Preparation of MLGU's (HRC-Oxfam/UNOCHA) Mobilization of PLGU/NGA (UNOCHA) Preparation of venues, materials, food and transportation of participants o HRC-Oxfam/UNOCHA o Cost sharing Documentation (UNOCHA/HRC-Oxfam) Media (UNOCHA/HRC-Oxfam) Monitoring (UNOCHA/HRC-Oxfam) Page 7 of 7

and fed-back to the communities. Should: Summarize the MLGU outputs with respect to major issues raised by the community. Outline of the agreements and action points.

Web Annex 6: Output indicators and targets 2016-17

CL 153/3 Web Annex 6 1 Web Annex 6: Output indicators and targets 2016-17 SO1: Contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition 1.1 Member countries and their 1.1.1 Improving capacities